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Angels
Angels were once a diverse race of powerful, celestial beings which originated from the plane humans refer to as "Heaven". Originally created by the deity known as "God" to serve as messengers and attendants, angels quickly adapted to serve as soldiers for Heaven during Lucifer's rebellion. Most angels appear to be jealous of humanity due to God favoring humanity over angels. Since the Fall of Heaven, most angels have been forced to adapt to life among humans. History Angels were created long before mankind and were the first creatures created by God. As mankind came into existence on Earth, God became enamored with them and eventually began to favor them over his own creations. While many Angels were content to begrudgingly accept being their father's second favorite, Lucifer, an archangel and first created by God, rebelled and refused to let his father love mankind more than he and his brethren. This eventually led to a war between the angels who still remained loyal to God and the angels who sided with Lucifer. Amidst the chaos that ensued, God disappeared, something most angels blame on Lucifer. In the end, the angels of Heaven won and as punishment for Lucifer and his sympathizers' transgressions, they were evicted from Heaven. A new "pit" was forged by Lucifer and his allies in order to serve as their new home as they vowed to seek vengeance upon the angels who cast them out of their home and the humans whom they blamed for their father leaving. Over the next several centuries, angels and demons vied for influence over humanity. The world would, for a long time be gripped by an ongoing struggle between Heaven, which sought to please their absentee father by protecting humanity, and Hell, which blamed humanity for their father's absence and sought only the downfall of mankind. Eventually, an agreement was made and Heaven and Hell decided that they would leave humanity to its own devices. Good souls would be allowed into Heaven and the evil souls would go to Hell. No bargaining, no fighting over them, just a balanced system until they decided to bring about the Apocalypse. Fall of Heaven In the end, the apocalypse would go off as planned by both sides. Catastrophe, tragedy, destruction, and chaos ensued immediately as Earth was turned into a war ground for the forces of Heaven and Hell. In the end, however, Heaven lost and Hell's victory granted them immense power. With this power, Hell invaded Heaven, claiming the souls that had once belonged above and in time, the forces of Hell saw to the destruction of the angel's home. This event, known to the Angels as the Fall of Heaven, ended in all angels falling to Earth. Since then, angels have had no choice but to live among humans, posing as mortal men and women. Powers Angels are a diverse race and as such, have varying powers. For powers specific to each class, refer to the below section on the types of angels. The following is a list of abilities possessed by all remaining angel classes, i.e. the archangels, seraphs, and reapers. Angels were once a vast, diverse race with powers varying greatly depending on the tier they fell in. Once viewed as the pinnacle of supernatural beings with vast power and feared by all, angels now live mostly in hiding, fearing the new found power of Hell's forces. The following is a list of powers which are posssessed by tiers which are known to still have survivors (i.e. archangels, seraphs, and reapers): * Immortality: While considerably more vulnerable to Earthly weapons since the Fall of Heaven, angels still do not age, do not contract human illnesses, and can only be injured man-made weapons, not killed. * Regeneration: An angel will almost immediately heal from most any injury caused by Earthly weapons and hazards (like fire or car crashes). * Super Stamina: Angels do not require food, water, or sleep to sustain themselves. They can become exhausted if put through their paces by another angel or demon and in this case, sleep is usually the preferred method to regain their strength. * Super Agility: Angels move quicker than humans and have exceptional reflexes. * Super Strength: Angels can easily pull car doors off hinges, single handed or punch a hole in concrete. * Supernatural Perception: All angels can perceive magic, magical beings, and other supernatural entities like themselves. Additionally, so long as they aren't masked with magic, when a supernatural being enters their "field" of perception an angel can "sense" it immediately. * Flight/Wings: All angels had wings at some time. These wings are strong and shard and can be used as both shields and weapons. These wings are also retractable and be unfurled whenever an angels needs them, then hidden when no longer needed. Additionally, they also enable the angel to fly at speeds that rival supersonic jets. * Tongues: All angels can understand any language they hear and speak any language they hear spoken. Angel Wings All angels at least had wings at one point. Ranging in color and size, these large feathered appendages, while working differently than the wings of birds, grant an angel its ability to fly. Made of feathers composed of an almost indestructible, metallic substance not found on Earth and emanating divine power, the wings of angels are probably an angel's most cherished remnant of divinity. Angels can also retract and unfurl their wings at will, when needed. When in battle, most angels use them to their advantage whether as impenetrable shields or razor sharp blades capable of chipping away at solid concrete. Many demons collect angel wings, either having their feathers melted down into its rawest form and then formed into weapons or used in powerful rituals requiring immense divine energy. Heaven and Angelic power Originally the home of the angels and the final resting place for all good souls, Heaven has since been destroyed by Hell's forces. In the past, Heaven was the source of divinity. It provided angels with much of their strength and powers and with it gone, most angels have been weakened to the point of being littler more than any other supernatural beast. Additionally, the Fall of Heaven has precipitated the rise of Hell and the status of demons (fallen angels) who originally lost their connection to Heaven's power. The reason souls were desired by both sides, the reason Heaven and Hell both wielded immense energy and granted their caretakers such vast and seemingly endless power is because of the plethora of souls in each realm. Souls, pure energy bound in human flesh, wield more power than a nuclear reactor and as such, were used as the fuel for angels and demons alike. As a result, it is worth noting that angels will, with the loss of their battery, will inevitably run out of power. Types of Angels Archangels Archangels are the fewest and most powerful of the angels and were the first created by God. Archangels were originally the leaders of the Heavenly host after God left and Lucifer was one of them before rebelling. During the Apocalypse and the final war, archangels led the charge against Hell's forces. Now, archangels are among the few survivors of the war with Hell and most live in secrecy, though some seek to start up another war. Archangels have the following abilities not possessed by other angels: * Smiting: Once able to level cities with a single snap of their fingers, now archangels are barely able to destroy low to mid-level creatures with their heavenly smite. Now requiring physical contact, this ability is a considerable drain on an archangel without the power of Heaven behind them and will leave an angel weakened and disoriented after using it. * Archangel Blades: Varying in exact appearance from angel to angel, all archangels have a divine, magical weapon capable of killing anything, even rumored to be capable of killing deities. Seraphim The Seraphim, or Seraphs for short, are the second class of angels, just below the archangels, and once accounted for the bulk of Heaven's leadership. Seraphs are powerful and while not archangels, were once feared as being among the most powerful beings out there. Since the Fall of Heaven, however, seraphs have become just as scarce as any angel and seraphs, along with archangels and reapers, remain one of the only known, surviving tiers of angel. Seraphs have the following abilities not possessed by other angels: * Telepathy: Seraphs possess the ability to communicate with others through thought. They are also able to search through the minds of others for old memories or experiences. It is important to note that the older and more powerful a being is, the more complex their thoughts will be and the more resistance their mind will give. Angelic Reapers Mostly keeping to themselves, angelic reapers were once the healers of the armies of Heaven. Even after the Fall of Heaven, reapers remain the only angels capable of healing and can even resurrect recently killed living creatures (angels, demons, or humans). Reapers have the following abilities not possessed by other angels: * Healing: Reapers are able to heal others, whether angel or human, or fallen angel. All they need do is touch the one they want to heal. This ability is still a drain on them, however, and the more injured someone is, the more of a drain it will be on Reapers to heal them. * Resurrection: Reapers are the only ones capable of bringing someone back to life. However, the creature or person must only have been dead for no more than a day and they must be mostly whole. If they are missing an arm or leg, a reaper cannot being them back. * Draining: Just as they are able to give life, reapers are capable of taking it as well. While angelic reapers no longer need to escort souls to Heaven, they can manipulate the souls of living beings to perform certain tasks. Such as siphon off the life of one person to heal another. Grigori (Non-playable) Originally referred to as the "Warriors of Heaven," the Grigori were the soldiers of the Heavenly host and served as the bulk of Heaven's forces during the Apocalypse. However, because of their front line duties, they were among the first tiers of angels to be wiped out. It is currently believed that all Grigori are dead. Cherubim (Non-playable) Mostly used as the messengers of Heaven, Cherubim, or cherubs for short, served mainly as stealthy assassin like warriors during the Apocalypse. This was mainly due to the fact that cherubs were not particularly strong and thus not capable of taking on a powerful demon head on. It is currently believed that all cherubs are dead. Thralls (Non-playable) Much like the scourge of Hell's armies, thralls were used by Heaven in the latest days of the Apocalypse as shock troops. Used to overwhelm the enemy with vast numbers and barbaric tactics, the thralls are an amalgamation of several human souls into a powerful, animal-like beast similar to an angelic attack dog. Weaknesses While impervious to most Earthly weapons or hazards, there are a handful of things that angels are vulnerable to and can be injured or killed with. * Losing their Wings: Though difficult, it is possible to forcibly remove an angel's wings by using an archangel's blade or blades forged in hell. The wings of angels are naturally endowed with powerful, magical properties and from them, angels maintain a link to their divine abilities. Without them, angels are considerably weaker than the average angel. * Eviction Spell: There are a handful of spells, both originating from Heaven and Hell that can evict a angel from a certain area. They are forcibly transported to the edge of the spell's range. Though, after the spell is completed and the angel is sent away, they can immediately reenter the range. * Angel Wards: Certain spells from various sources can prevent angels from entering a certain area. Not the same as an eviction spell and not capable of sending an angel away if they are already nearby, these spells can prevent an angel from coming anywhere near a spot or prevent them from sensing the presence of something. Death There are only a handful of things in the known world that are capable of killing an angel. These weapons are rare and coveted by both angels and demons. Injuries to an angel inflicted with one of these weapons will heal at the same rate as a wound on a human would: * Archangel's Blade * Demon/Hell Forged Weapons * Angel Wing Weapons * Demonic Fire: While not always deadly, an angel can be burned alive by the fire created by a Knight of Hell. Summoning Rituals There are a handful of rituals/summoning spells that have been created by various cultures across the globe throughout the course of time. While not necessarily a weakness, nor are angels compelled to appear before someone who performs a summoning spell, it has sometimes been used to capture angels who do chose to respond. This tactic works due to the fact that blood is always required in these rituals and an angel can sense who's blood is being used if they've met the person before. Many demons exploit this by capturing one angel and summoning another with the captured angel's blood. Relationships Angels Friendships and rivalries among angels vary as much as they do among humans. Most of the angels who resided in Heaven just before the Fall tend to view each other positively. While some angels who fell from Heaven have joined forces with the Demons, most congregate with one another for safety from the demons. Romantic relationships among angels tend to be complicated and a relatively new concept among angels. While romance between humans and angels or witches and angels, while rare, are known to have happen throughout human history; however, romance between angels wasn't viewed negatively, so much as something that was never entertained. Most angels viewed one another as brothers and sisters, or in the least, cousins, but with the Fall, many angels have been dispersed throughout the world and cut off from one another over the past two decades. As a result, the sense of familial ties has lessened and given rise to other feelings. Demons/Fallen Angels The relationship between angels and their fallen brethren has been complicated and bitter-sweet. While most angels view demons extremely negatively now after the Fall, originally, demons were viewed by the other angels as just the family members they disagreed with. Since then, angels tend to view demons with either fear and dread for being hunted or hatred and disgust after having destroyed Heaven. Humans The relationship between angels and humans varies and is mostly one sided with humans tending to view angels positively, but angels generally looking down on humans and partially blaming them for their current situation. For the most part, however, many angels and humans have joined forces in small groups attempting to at least make the last days bearable. Witches The relationship between angels and witches is generally neither good nor bad. Currently, angels and witches are more likely to be at odds than to cooperate as the witches blame the angels, as much as they do the demons, for the current state of the world; while at the same time, angels see witches as no more than human, a group angels no longer hold much affection for. Still, it isn't unheard of for witches and angels to join forces, especially considering that they both see demons as far more of a threat than they do one another.